We did it again. Ruth and I went to see some old time rock band: The Ides of March. They had a big hit with Vehicle and the lead guy wrote Eye of the Tiger. They were actually pretty good and pretty old.
The reason I write this: I had a short stint as an actor when I was in high school. As a geek, then called a square, I took three years of Latin in high school. Not only was the language dead, but the whole class seemed to be also. Our teacher was even more square than the sum total of the class.
The teacher decided that we would conduct a play for the entire school about Julius Caesar. My assigned part was the Soothsayer who warned Mr. Caesar that he should “Cave Ides Martiales: Beware the Ides of March.” A very short and easily remembered line.
Rehearsals went great. Opening day, in costume, my moment came. I limped onto the stage and looked at the audience. I spazzed. I quickly said my lines and split, peeled out, bugged out, booked. It was such a traumatic experience that I had suppressed it into the deepest caves of my brain. The band’s name brought it flooding up to the surface.
I then remembered why I am afraid of public speaking. I am inherently a very shy dude. Speaking in front of a crowd is a bummer for me. Unless, of course, I was tokin’ and jokin’. Far out man. Stay cool.
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